Playing-ball.



N0. 7l7,4l3. Patented Dec. 30, I902.

E. KEMPSHALL.

PLAYING BALL.

Application filed Dec. 1,1902.)

" (No Model.)

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I w m V llnirnn STATES ELEAZER KEMPSHALL, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PLAYING-BALL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,413, dated December30, 1902.

Original application filed May 28, 1902, Serial No. 109381. Divided andthis application filed December 1, 1902. Serial No. 133,382. (No model)To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELEAZER KEMPSHALL, a citizen of the United States,residing in Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Playing-Balls, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to playing-balls, and its objects are to increasethe flying power thereof and also to render them buoyant in water. 7

This application is a division of my application filed May 28, 1902,Serial No. 109,281.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a part-sectional view of agolf-ball embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is an enlarged segment of aball. Fig. 3 illustrates the filling or body of the ball. Fig. 4 shows apiece of acid-cured sheet-rubber used in forming said body.

In the several views similar parts are desig nated by similar charactersof reference.

For the centerpiece of the ball I employ a small sphere 1, preferably ofcelluloid or other hard springy material. Upon this center piece I applythin. acid-cured sheet-rubber, layer over layer, to form the filling 2of the ball, and upon this filling I place a shell 8, of plasticmaterial, preferably gutta-percha, and preferably holding the fillingunder compression.

In winding the filling 2, which forms the principal part of the body ofthe ball in the illustrated construction, I employ a very thin sheetingof acid-cured rubber Athat is, rubber which has been changed from thecrude to a usable state by a well-known acid process as distinguishedfrom the more common process of mixing raw rubber with sulfur and thensubjecting the mixture to heat. Specimens of acid-cured rubber are thecom mercial surgeons rubber or dental rubber or dental dam. Thiscontains little or no foreign dead mixture which would im pair itsstrength or elasticity, and it is much stronger than rubber which isvulcanized by being first mixed with sulfur and then heated, and henceperforms an important function in my approved ball, because it can bedrawn extremely thin and withstands great strain, and by these combinedqualities I ain enabled to make a substantially solid ball, all portionswhereof are under high tension. This solidity is effected by thethinness to which the sheeting is drawn in connection with the hardpacking action due to the tenseness of the overlying windings, which, itwill be understood, pack the inner layers in a most effectual manner. Itwill be perceived that owing to the solidity of a ball thus formedlateral flow of the rubber sheet or strip becomes impossiblethat is,such flow as would occur at the unconfined edges of an ordinary plate ofrubber when subjected to pressure-and hence any further distortion ofthe rubber when the ball is struck can occur only in directionslongitudinally of the strips, and since this is already highly tensionedthe ball exhibits phenomenal flying power. Moreover, the described ballof solid windings is so hard and so highly tensioned as not to be undulyaffected by a light blow, rendering the ball also excellent for putting.This sheeting I wind continuously in miscellaneous directions, layerover layer, as indicated at B. I prefer to use sheeting originally fromnine one-thousandths to twelve one-thousandths of an inch in thicknessand tensioned to an extent to reduce its thickness to from threeone-thousandths to four one-thousandths of an inch. It will beunderstood that owing to its strength thin sheeting of acid-cured rubbermay be employed and that it may be stretched until it is extremely thin,since this quality or kind of rubber stands very great stress Withoutbreaking. In this waythat is, by using extremely thin windings-I canmake a substantially solid sphere of rubber which is highly tensioned inall directions and is hence powerful when given a hard blow, while beingtoo highly strung to be materially affected by a light blow, so that itis Well adapted for the game of golf. By reason of its extraordinarythinness the sheeting winds Very compactly, forming a solid body-thatis, a body containing no perceptible crevices. The solidity of the bodyIregard as afeature of great importance.

necessarily stretches said outer layer. ,prehend, further, that thesuccessive inner In using the term acid process herein I mean todistinguish from that vulcanizing process which consists of mixingsulfur mechanically with rubber and then subjecting the mixture to heat,said acid process involving the surface treatment or immersion of theraw rubber sheet in a suitable bath-as, for instance, in a bathconsisting of a mixture of dichlorid of sulfur and carbon disulfid.

The highly-tensioned sheeting has not only the advantage of beingextremely elastic and not only packs closely layer upon layer to form asolid ball, but it will also be seen that because of its thinness agreat number of layers can be compacted within the allotted space,

as at B, Fig. 1, and since each layer is independently tensioned a largeamount of power is stored up on the ball. In short, my filling consistsprincipally of a solid ball of rubber whose different portions aretensioned in miscellaneous directions, each portion being distended tomany times its normal length.

By excluding foreign material from the rubber sheeting many advantagesare gained in constructing a golf-ball, which is of small size. Foreignmaterial, which is comparatively inelastic, not only displaces its bulkof the highly-elastic rubber sheeting, but by its presence alsointerferes with the action of the rubber. In other Words, the mixing offoreign material makes more work to be done and reduces the amount ofthe rubber for doing the work. Moreover, by having the rubberapproximately pure it is found that a very thin sheet thereof withstandsa high degree of tension,so thatamultitudeofhighlytensioned sheets maybe embodied in the ball, thus materially augmenting its flying power.Again, by using approximately pure cured rubber in forming the body thegolf-ball is rendered buoyant in water, so that if accidentally driveninto a lake or stream it can be readily located and recovered. Iapprehend that when the ball is given a blow the outer layer or envelopof tensioned rubber is subjected to a still greater tension, saidenvelop being of spherical form and containing a solid mass, so that theonly effect possible to produce a blow is a change of'shape of the ballfrom a true sphere, which change of shape I aplayers are also subjectedto extra tension for the same reason. Since there are a multitude ofthese highly-tensioned rubber layers and all are simultaneously given anextra tension by a blow from a club and since their reaction isinstantaneous, the ball flies from the club with phenomenal speed.

The gutta-percha shell 3 may, if desired, be formed of hemisphericalsegments, which are preferably welded upon the filling 2 under heat andpressure. It will be noted that the heaviest portion of the structureconsists of the shell, which lies at the periphery of the ball and byreason of its momentum when the ball is in rotation tends to prolong theflight thereof.

Preferably the diameter of the center piece is at least twenty-five percent. of the diameter of the finished ball, while the thickness of thewall of the sphere of acid-cured rubber is at least equal to one-half ofthe radius of the ball. The diameter of said sphere is preferablyeighty-five per cent. of the diameter of the ball.

The center piece 1 may be made of other material within the scope of mypresent improvements, and my novel filling or body may be used withother covers than thatillnstrated Having thus described my invention, Iclaim- 1. In a playing-ball, the combination of a center piece; amultitude of windings thereon of extremely thin and highly-tensionedapproximately pure acid-cured sheet-rubber, said windings forming asolid body, and a cover formed of plastic material; said cover holdingsaid rubber under compression.

2. A playing-ball comprising a small hard center piece; asubstantiallysolid materially larger spherical body upon said center piece andconsisting of windings of extremely thin and highly-tensioned acid-curedsheet-rubher; and a shell or cover of plastic material.

3. In a playing-ball, the combination of a center piece; windingsthereon of thin and highly tensioned acid cured sheet rubber forming asolid body, and a cover of gut'tapercha upon said rubber; said windingsforming such a proportion of the ball as to enable it to float in water.

4. In a playing-ball, the combination of a sphere of celluloid; amultitude of windings of extremely thin and highly-tensionedapproximately pure acid cured sheet rubber forming a solid body uponsaid sphere, and a shell of plastic material.

5. In a playing-ball, the combination of a center piece; a solid bodythereon consisting of windings in miscellaneous directions ofhighly-tensioned acid-cured sheet-rubber, each of said windings beingnot more than four one-thousandths of an inch in thickness; and a coverof wear-resisting material upon said body.

6. In a playing-ball, the combination of a solid body of spherical formand provided with a center piece, and consisting of miscellaneouswindings of highly-tensioned approximately pure acid-cured sheet-rubber,each of said windings being not more than four one-thousandths of aninch in thickness, and a shell of gutta-percha holding said windingsunder compression.

7. A playing ball, comprising a cente piece, a sphere thereon consistingof tense windings of thin acidcured sheetrubber forming a solid body,and a cover of guttapercha; the thickness of the wall of said spherebeing at least equal to one-half of the sphere being substantiallyeighty-five per radius of the ball. cent. ofthe diameter of the ball,and a cover IO 8. A playing-ball comprising a spherical of gutta-percha.

center piece whose diameter is atleast twentyfive per cent. of thediameter of the ball, a ELEAAER KEMPSHALL' sphere upon said center piececonsisting of Witnesses: tense windings of thin acid-cured sheetrub-FRED. J. DOLE, ber forming asolid body, the diameter of said B. O.STIOKNEY.

